When to Plant Cantaloupes in Tinley Park, IL

One of the best tools that you have as gardeners to help us figure out your gardening schedule is the USDA zone info. The most important data that the zone info tells us is average last frost and the lowest expected temperature for your area.

By referring to the USDA zone info for Tinley Park you will be able to estimate when it's a good idea to plant cantaloupes.


Planting Calendar for Cantaloupes

Frost tolerance for cantaloupes: Not tolerant of frost.
When to plant: After all chance of frost has passed.

Since cantaloupes require warm weather you need to wait until after the last frost when the weather gets warmer before you can plant them.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant cantaloupes
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant cantaloupes
Probably not a good time to plant cantaloupes

The earliest that you can plant cantaloupes in Tinley Park is April. However, you really should wait until May if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant cantaloupes and expect a good harvest is probably August. Any later than that and your cantaloupes may not have a chance to grow to maturity. You can get started a couple of weeks earlier by starting your cantaloupes indoors.

Last Frost Date

On average the last frost has passed is on April 15 in Tinley Park. In the coldest months of winter you can expect an average low temperature of -15°F.

It's important to remember that the actual date of last frost may not be accurate from year to year because it is based on the USDA zone info for Tinley Park and it will vary from year to year. Half of the time in Tinley Park it frosts late in the year after April 15 so be sure to be ready to cover your cantaloupes if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Tinley Park

Here is the info for USDA Zone 5b.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)April 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)October 15
Lowest Expected Low-15°F
Highest Expected Low-10°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is -15°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near -10°F.

Plants to Grow in Tinley Park

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Tinley Park.